Month: September 2024

ECONOGAL > 2024 > September

A Bad Day for Sunshine Book Review

Posted on by Econogal

Author Darynda Jones

Another missed book due to the pandemic is A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones. This 2020 release contains both suspense and mirth. Not at the same time. Jones creates characters with deep backgrounds and intriguing personalities. There is also sexual tension and violence. So, I am recommending this for adults only.

Setting for A Bad Day for Sunshine

Del Sol, New Mexico is a fictional town in the northern part of the state, up the road from Sante Fe but not quite to Colorado. The region is sprinkled with small towns where everyone knows everything and everybody. Secrets are hard to keep. And town folk tend to rally around their own.

Five minutes from one end of town to the other. The kind of town where parents receive phone calls about kids skipping school before the truants can even get to where they are going. Strangers are noticed instantaneously and newcomers…well, it helps to marry into the community if one’s not fortunate enough to be born there.

Sunshine Vicram née Freyr

A new sheriff is in town. Widow Sunshine Vicram left Del Sol without looking back with infant Auri in tow. Through the years she has made a name for herself in law enforcement in the bigger cities of New Mexico. Then, unbeknownst to her, she manages to win an election, so now she is Sheriff Vicram.

Auri is a teenager. Facing a new high school mid-year is treacherous as the busted New Year’s Eve party resulted in a confiscated keg. Fellow students think she was the narc. To make matters worse, the only friend made during said party is missing. As in abducted. Thus, Auri is anxious to help her mom find Sybil.

Complications

Author Jones weaves many backstories in this introduction to a new series. The multitude of characters makes it tough for the reader to determine the “bad” guy. And there are multiple threads requiring police investigation, including the cold case of a long-ago abduction.

Secondary characters pepper the story. And the most complicated of all is Levi Ravinder. Naturally, Sunshine gravitates toward him just as in their youth. But he may prove even more dangerous now. The skill of the writing brings all the cast to life.

Recommendation

A Bad Day for Sunshine was checked out from the library since it was the start of a series, all with catchy titles. The page turner was read in one sitting with nary a break except to eat. Also checked out was the second in the series A Good Day for Chardonnay, and the library has the third title as well. The Sunshine Vicram series will most likely be devoured by this reader much like The Boxcar Children and The Happy Hollisters from years gone by.

If you have not discovered this series and enjoy suspense tempered with humor, look for Darynda Jones books at your library or favorite bookstore. Well-written with only one (necessary?) plot glitch—NO PARENT would leave the side of a newly found abductee- this series is one to put on your radar.

2034 Book Review

Posted on by Econogal

A Pandemic Miss

Recently, in a book store I grabbed both a new release 2054, and its’ prequel 2034. Both books are written by duo Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis. The original release date for 2034 was 2021. So, yet another novel missed due to the pandemic. After completing 2034 in sobering fashion, it will be a while before I tackle 2054. Thought-provoking books take time to digest.

Plot of 2034

The plot of the novel is realistic. The Chinese push back on the Americans trolling of the South China Sea. In real life, and in the book, the status of Taiwan sits as a sharp thorn in the middle of the ocean. Many parallels exist between fiction and life.

2034 posits that the Americans have lost the edge with respect to stealth and cyber defense. Furthermore, the authors create a situation where a cat-and-mouse game gets out of hand due to actions of third-party alliances. This escalates into war.

Cast of Characters

The story is told with multiple points of view. Always tricky, but well written by Ackerman and Stavridis. Interesting enough, the main Iranian character comes across as the most relatable. At least to this reader.

A few real-life individuals are alluded to in the story. But not the ones I expected. And women have a large role in the fight. As usual, rogue characters create havoc. Most interesting was the diversity of the characters and their relative points of view. Thus, 2034 is very global.

Overall Impressions of 2034

At first, the novel strikes one as very technical. Only toward the end do the personalities of each highlighted character come through. Divergent themes are also present. First is the idea that the United States of America is slipping a notch in technology-and doesn’t realize it. Second, expressed mostly through the Indian-American character of Dr. Sandeep “Sandy” Chowdhury, is the thought that the ideal of America is not necessarily bound by borders.

Perhaps the most lasting impression for me is the knowledge of the warriors who tire of war and seek peace in nature and family. The dichotomy of destruction and nurture is best told through the American naval officer Sarah Hunt and the Iranian hero Qassem Farshad. Both seek quietude in the aftermath of war.

Finally, wars produce more losers than winners. They also realign world order. This was true after World War II and true of the fictional war of 2034. Readers may be surprised at the change in power and influence.